1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-tasking clinical laboratory work-flow system and, more particularly, to a system incorporating a robotic sample transfer device(s); and which semi-automates validated immunoassay and electrophoresis protocols.
2. Setting for the Invention
Most clinical laboratories today, and in the foreseeable future, are faced with becoming more efficient. The quest for efficiency, however, is confronted with the decreasing availability of trained laboratory technologists and an expanding menu of diagnostic testing protocols. Generally, becoming more efficient means increasing or maintaining the timely output of test results with the same number or fewer technologists, i.e. hands-on labor.
The overused and sometimes misused solution to the quest for efficiency has been automation. Automation in the laboratory usually means optimizing work-flow to increase output, shortening turn-around time in reporting test results, while utilizing less labor, i.e. fewer full-time equivalents (FTE). Attempts to accomplish these objectives have focused on applying the use of instrumentation, computers and manual activities. The application of automation, however, has not achieved, for all laboratories, the expected improvements in efficiency.
One explanation that is generally expressed to account for the lower than expected improvements in efficiency is the variation of work-flow demands in many laboratories. Consequently, automation does not always mean replacing every manual activity in the laboratory. This problem is further propounded by the inability of instrumentation systems to accommodate changes in the daily work-flow patterns of the laboratory. In addition, a thorough analysis of work-flow patterns is generally neglected before attempts are made to enhance work-flow.
The use of robotics in the laboratory has been examined as one way to optimize work-flow and thus increase efficiency. The use of robotics, in most cases, requires the conversion of human-assisted (manual) protocols to robotic-assisted (semi-automated) protocols. This conversion requires training of the involved technologists and the integration of the robotic device into the laboratory.